europäisch

Forms

europäisch (strong nominative masculine singular europäischer, comparative europäischer, superlative am europäischsten)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from German Europa + -isch.^[2][1][3] When the name of the continent still had older German forms with Latin endings, the adjective was europisch.^[4] Adelung notes that the name comes from Greek, Ancient Greek Εὐρώπη (Eurṓpē).^[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The revised Grimm dictionary first records the adjective in 1560, in a translation of Paolo Giovio that speaks of dise europeischen fürsten “these European princes”, meaning belonging to Europe.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Campe, in 1807, glosses it as “from Europe, belonging to it, native to it”, of plants, animals, languages, customs and goods.^[6] From the 18th century it also described what is characteristic of European culture: Herder in 1769 sets “European moderation” against Asian heat.^[2]

After the Second World War it came to refer to the union of the European states, as in the plan for a European university (1962) or a common European task (1977).^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1560 – europeisch in a translation of Paolo Giovio.^[2]
• 1668 – Francisci writes of europaeische feigenbäume “European fig trees”.^[2]
• 1769 – Herder uses it of European cultural character.^[2]
• 1962 – First quotation for the sense “relating to the union of Europe”.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. European, of or relating to Europe: die europäischen Hauptstädte.^[7][1]
2. Relating to the union of the European states: die europäische Einigung.^[7][2]
3. Typical of European culture.^[2]

Word family

• Europäer

Related words

• Europa

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, Neubearbeitung (1965–2018), ed. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 9 vols. (A–F), Leipzig / Stuttgart: Hirzel, p. 8, 2445
3. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org
4. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 3, 1197
5. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf
6. ^ Campe, Joachim Heinrich (1807–1811), Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache, 5 vols., Braunschweig: Schulbuchhandlung
7. ^ a b c Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag